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This paper aims to explain the unwillingness to exchange export knowledge by members of exporters’ networks and provides potential solutions to this problem.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to explain the unwillingness to exchange export knowledge by members of exporters’ networks and provides potential solutions to this problem.
Design/methodology/approach
This study uses data from a survey of 301 members of a French exporter’s network to test a set of hypotheses with partial least squares structural equation modeling.
Findings
Network participants’ export experience and age have a negative influence on their willingness to exchange knowledge. However, positive attitudes toward the network (perception of network quality, commitment) can mitigate those negative links.
Practical implications
Network members’ unwillingness to exchange knowledge represents a major challenge that threatens the existence of knowledge networks. The findings suggest solutions to this issue for network managers.
Originality/value
This study views knowledge exchange in a network as a risky behavior. It explains why members do not participate in networks. The model shows how contrary forces work and interact to deter or foster knowledge exchange.
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Philipp T. Schneider, Vincent Buskens and Arnout van de Rijt
Diffusion studies investigate the propagation of behavior, attitudes, or beliefs across a networked population. Some behavior is binary, e.g., whether or not to install solar…
Abstract
Diffusion studies investigate the propagation of behavior, attitudes, or beliefs across a networked population. Some behavior is binary, e.g., whether or not to install solar panels, while other behavior is continuous, e.g., wastefulness with plastic. Similarly, attitudes and beliefs often allow nuance, but can become practically binary in polarized environments. We argue that this property of behavior and attitudes – whether they are binary or continuous – should critically affect whether a population becomes homogenous in its adoption of that behavior. Models show that only continuous behavior converges across a network. Specifically, binary behavior allows local convergence, as multiple states can be local majorities. Continuous behavior becomes uniform across the network through a logic of communicating vessels. We present a model comparing the diffusion of both types of behavior and report on a laboratory experiment that tests it. In the model, actors have to distribute an investment over two options, while a majority receives information that points to the optimal option and a minority receives misguided information that points toward the other option. We predict that when adjacent persons receive misguided information this can hinder convergence toward optimal investment behavior in small networked groups, especially when subjects cannot split their investment, i.e., binary choice. Results falsify our theoretical predictions: Although investment decisions are significantly negatively affected by local majorities only in the binary condition, this difference with the continuous condition is not itself significant. Binary and continuous behavior therefore achieve comparable incidences of optimal investment in the experiment. The failure of the theoretical predictions appears due to a substantial level of error in decision-making, which prevents local majorities from locking in on a suboptimal behavior.
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Mélissa Fortin, Erica Pimentel and Emilio Boulianne
This study explores how introducing a permissioned blockchain in a supply chain context impacts accountability relationships and the process of rendering an account. The authors…
Abstract
Purpose
This study explores how introducing a permissioned blockchain in a supply chain context impacts accountability relationships and the process of rendering an account. The authors explore how implementing a digital transformation impacts the governance of network transactions.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors mobilize 28 interviews and documentary analysis. The authors focus on early blockchain adopters to get an insight into how implementing a permissioned blockchain can transform information sharing, coordination and collaboration between business partners, now converted into network participants.
Findings
The authors suggest that implementing a permissioned blockchain impacts accountability across three levers, namely through the ledger, through the code and through the people, where these levers are interconnected. Blockchains are often valued for their ability to enable transparency through the visibility of transactions, but the authors argue that this is an incomplete view. Rather, transparency alone does not help to satisfy a duty of accountability, as it can result in selective disclosure or obfuscation.
Originality/value
The authors extend the conceptualizations of accountability in the blockchain literature by focusing on how accountability relationships are enacted, and accounts are rendered in a permissioned blockchain context. Additionally, the authors complement existing work on accountability and governance by suggesting an integrated model across three dimensions: ledger, code and people.
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Ana Cláudia Azevedo, João Maurício Gama Boaventura, Douglas Wegner, Ernesto Michelangelo Giglio and Cristina Boari
Few studies have analysed how to actively manage strategic networks (SNs) to achieve individual and collective goals and create value. This paper aims to examine the influence of…
Abstract
Purpose
Few studies have analysed how to actively manage strategic networks (SNs) to achieve individual and collective goals and create value. This paper aims to examine the influence of network management on the value created by SNs and the mediation role of resources and relationship quality.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors distributed a survey to 126 companies linked to SNs in the Brazilian information and communication technology sector. This study tested the hypothesized relationships using partial least squares structural equation modelling.
Findings
This study found that network management directly influences value creation. Furthermore, the exchange and combination of resources mediate the relationship between the two constructs. Surprisingly, the quality of the relationships does not mediate the relationship between management and the value created. However, it positively impacts the exchange and combination of complementary resources.
Originality/value
This study provides a new interpretation of the determinants of value creation in SNs. The results contribute to the theory by demonstrating that the relationship between network management and value creation is strengthened when the exchange and combination of resources between network participants occur. In turn, these are positively influenced by the quality of relationships established in the network, thus providing a new interpretation of the determinants of value creation in SNs.
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Tyler Prochnow and Megan S. Patterson
Online gaming has emerged as a popular activity providing a social outlet for millions. However, implications of online game networks for mental health remain disputed. Concepts…
Abstract
Purpose
Online gaming has emerged as a popular activity providing a social outlet for millions. However, implications of online game networks for mental health remain disputed. Concepts of bridging social capital and bonding social capital may help characterize protective factors within social networks. This study aims to examine the associations between social capital derived from online versus in-person networks and mental health indicators among gamers.
Design/methodology/approach
Online gamers (n = 301) completed an online survey assessing their social networks (both in-person and through online gaming) and mental health indicators (depressive symptoms, anxiety, social isolation, perceived social support). Social network analysis was used to analyze bridging (network size, effective size, heterogeneity, weak ties) and bonding (closeness, frequent contact, confiding, connection quality) social capital. Separate linear regression models evaluated associations between bridging and bonding social capital for both online and in-person networks and depressive symptoms, anxiety, social support and social isolation.
Findings
In-person network characteristics showed the strongest associations with mental health outcomes. Greater average closeness and frequent confiding in the in-person network predicted lower isolation and fewer depressive symptoms. More diverse relationship types also correlated with lower depression. For online networks, closeness and confiding ties associated only with less isolation and greater support, not depressive symptoms, or anxiety.
Originality/value
While online gaming networks provide some degree of social support, in-person social capital exhibited stronger associations with mental health. This reinforces the importance of face-to-face relationships for emotional well-being. Findings suggest helping gamers cultivate close bonds offline. However, online connections still matter and should not be discounted.
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This study focuses on a regional education network in the Mid-Atlantic that aims to facilitate equitable learning practices by providing ongoing teacher/leader support…
Abstract
Purpose
This study focuses on a regional education network in the Mid-Atlantic that aims to facilitate equitable learning practices by providing ongoing teacher/leader support, cross-sector collaboration and professional learning for educators. The authors probe networks as providing core support for systems level change and serving as precursors to the community engagement that is essential for deeper learning. Specifically, this study is driven by the hypotheses that (1) deeper learning may be supported by pathways for students and educators to meaningfully engage with the local community; (2) deeper learning is more likely to happen when educators connect to communities beyond their own school or organization and (3) education networks can help facilitate those functions.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors aimed to understand how participation in an education network influenced members (which include school leaders, teachers and leaders of youth programs) and how experiences might differ by level of participation. The authors conducted interviews with individuals across three groups of adults (n = 111 total): core members (n = 16), members with mid-level engagement (n = 30) and peripheral members (n = 65).
Findings
Educators who participated most intensely and deeply described the network as a vehicle for learning about and advancing equity through specific practices including individualized learning, increasing access and resource redistribution. Mid-level participants emphasized the professional network building function of the network. For peripheral or new participants, the most salient function of the network was celebration of education and educators. These findings suggest that education networks have a role in strengthening the structures that support leaders to make deeper learning happen.
Research limitations/implications
More research is needed on how participants move from the periphery to more core involvement in education networks, where they may gain the full benefits of participation. Further research is also needed to explore the link between education network engagement among school leaders and the deeper learning environments in schools.
Originality/value
Research on education networks is limited. To the authors' knowledge, the present study is one of the largest collections and analyses of interviews with education network members to date. The authors present education network engagement as a precursor for community embedded deeper learning in schools.
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Hanvedes Daovisan, Sayamol Charoenratana and Motoki Akitsu
Transnational migration is a key challenge in migrant-sending and host-receiving countries. However, relatively little is known about how migrants use network capital to foster…
Abstract
Purpose
Transnational migration is a key challenge in migrant-sending and host-receiving countries. However, relatively little is known about how migrants use network capital to foster small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC). Therefore, the purpose of this study is to explore how network capital fosters Laotian migrant workers in Thai family SMEs.
Design/methodology/approach
This research was conducted using qualitative network analysis (QNA). Referral snowball sampling was used to draw 20 participants from December 2021 to March 2022. Data analysis was performed using Gephi, a software package developed for QNA (coding, network features, measure nodes and network metrics).
Findings
The main findings are the following four emerging themes: chain networks, social networks, human networks and financial networks are associated with network capital for fostering Laotian migrant workers in Thai family SMEs.
Originality/value
To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is the first QNA to explore how Laotian migrant workers use network capital in Thai family SMEs.
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Hua Song, Siqi Han, Wenyi Liu and Anirban Ganguly
The purpose of this paper is to explore the role of FinTech companies in SCF. The application of digital technology in supply chain activities has facilitated the evolution of…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore the role of FinTech companies in SCF. The application of digital technology in supply chain activities has facilitated the evolution of supply chain finance (SCF) to a new level. However, how financial technology (FinTech) companies promote this evolution has not been thoroughly examined.
Design/methodology/approach
This research used the multiple-case study approach and social network analysis method to explore how FinTech companies influence SCF networks.
Findings
The results reveal that FinTech companies play the crucial role of a signaling intermediary by facilitating interactions among relevant parties, accelerating the flow of information and reducing information asymmetry arising from data smog. Moreover, FinTech companies make SCF information networks more equitable and promote the performance of SCF.
Originality/value
This study deepens the conversation at the nexus of signal theory and SCF and provides managerial implications for alleviating information asymmetry between borrowers and lenders to solve the difficulty and high-cost problems of obtaining financing of small- and medium-sized enterprises.
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Carolyn Downs, Mike Ryder and T. Bartosz Kalinowski
This study aims to explore the socio-cultural barriers to enterprise in economically disadvantaged communities across five countries: UK, Poland, Romania, Bulgaria and Greece.
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to explore the socio-cultural barriers to enterprise in economically disadvantaged communities across five countries: UK, Poland, Romania, Bulgaria and Greece.
Design/methodology/approach
This study’s EU-funded project took the form of community-based participatory action research. This study focusses on the data from the interviews and network mapping exercises. A total of 40 individual interviews took place, with interviewees from communities with entrenched disadvantage and limited opportunities for employment and education and low rates of business start-ups.
Findings
The research shows that barriers to entrepreneurship can be overcome where a trusted representative (or “mediator”) can act as a bridge, facilitating access to new knowledge and networks. This approach can be used to support micro/SMEs for growth and innovation. In targeting these businesses, policymakers need to recognise the power imbalances between actors and take steps to overcome these, by establishing links with community-based mediators who can act as trusted interlocutors, enabling sustainable relationships to be developed.
Originality/value
This research targets many often hard-to-reach groups and offers insights into the lived experiences of those who often operate at the peripheries. In doing so, it shows how trusted individuals can be used to remove barriers and promote growth, making clear links between theory to practice.
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The study investigates the information-related challenges as well as the practices adopted by early-career researchers during transitions between roles and institutions. Its…
Abstract
Purpose
The study investigates the information-related challenges as well as the practices adopted by early-career researchers during transitions between roles and institutions. Its primary goal is to delve into how information behaviors serve as scaffolding during significant life shifts. Moreover, the research aims to provide actionable insights based on this scaffolding concept for individuals navigating transitions.
Design/methodology/approach
This preliminary and exploratory study took a phenomenological approach to examine the role of information seeking and personal information management (PIM) behaviors during life transitions. In-depth semi-structured interviews were held with 15 early-career researchers from various disciplines, who were about to finish their PhDs or had recently graduated.
Findings
By employing information seeking and PIM practices, participants were able to address three main information challenges that arose during the transition process: the timing of information behavior, the nature of information and the social components of the transition. The use of networked and independent information seeking/validation practices enabled to establish a sustainable network of transition-related information, reducing uncertainty. PIM practices helped planning the transition, maintaining information over the long-term and gaining control over personal information.
Originality/value
This study underscores the significance of information behaviors, encompassing both information seeking and PIM, as scaffolding mechanisms during crucial life transitions. It offers essential insights that can guide the creation of impactful interventions and resources. Additionally, the research illuminates the pressing demand for more in-depth exploration in this domain.
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